Seal for bottles or like packages.



No. 741,143. PATENTED OCT. 13, 1903.

G.v A-.. KENDALL. I SEAL FOR BOTTLES 0R LIKE PACKAGES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN, 26, 1903.

N0 MODEL.

rrnn STATES Patented October 13, 1903.

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GEORGE A. KENDALL, OF ST. MARKS, FLORIDA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 741,143, dated October 13, 1903.

Application filed January 26. 1903. Serial No. 140,631. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. KENDALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Marks, in the county of Wakulla and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Seals for Bottles or Like Packages, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to render detection possible in the event of a bottle or package being opened or tampered with, so as to prevent imposition upon either the prospective customer or the party or concern putting up goods of a particular brand or tradename.

The invention consists, essentially, of a plug for closing the bottle or package and an automatic lock for said plug to prevent its removal without rupture of some of the parts, thereby apprising the careful purchaser of the fact that the package has been tampered with.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and draw ings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention are susceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of the upper portion of a bottle, illustrating the application of the invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical central section thereof. Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the inner end of the plug detached, so as to admit of the removal of the plug preliminary to opening the bottle or package. Fig. at is a perspective view of the plug.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The invention is adapted to be applied to packages of any nature intended to contain goods of a particular brand, so as to throw a measure of protection about the proprietor and consumer and prevent the nefarious practice of refilling the bottle or package with inferior goods. In its general use the invention against displacement.

is adapted for bottles and is illustrated in this connection in the accompanying drawings, in which the body of the bottle is indicated at 1 and the neck at 2. Seats 3 are formed in the inner walls of the neck at diametrically opposite points and receive the extremities of an expansible lock-pin 4, which may be of any construction, and as illustrated comprises telescopic parts and an interposed spring 5, concealed and located within one of the sections. The lock-pin 4 serves to secure the seal within the neck ofthe bottle or packageagainst removal without rupture of some of the parts, whereby detection is rendered easy by the average person.

The seal consists of a plug 6 of glass or other material of a frangible nature, so as to become broken on the application of sufficient force. The plug 6 is provided with a head 7, which overlaps the neck of the bottle or package and is made angular or otherwise constructed, so as to receive a wrench or analogous tool, whereby the plug may be turned so as to effect fracture of the inner end preliminary to breaking the seal when it is required to open the package.

The inner end of the seal or plugis reduced, as shown at 8, and is apertured for the passage of the lock-pin 4. The head of the plug is adapted to receive a mark, symbol, or charactor to designate the brand or proprietor of the goods. When the seal is applied with the head 7 resting upon the outer extremity of the neck 2, the opening 9 in the reduced end is in register with the seats 3, thereby admitting of the lock-pin registering with said seats and entering the same.

The bottle or package is filled in the accustomed way and is closed by a stopper or cork 10, which is pressed into the neck to a point below the seats 3, as indicated most clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. The lock-pin 4 is fitted into the opening 9 of the plug 6 and is pressed so as to enter the neck 2, after which the plug is forced into said neck until the pin registers with the seats 3, when it will expand and enter the same, thereby locking the seal To open the bottle or package, it is necessary to break the inner end 8 of the seal, and this is usually effected by applying a wrench or like implement to the head 7 and turning the plug until the innor end 8 becomes broken or detached, as indicated in Fig. 3, when the plug may be removed. The lockpin is then disengaged from the package and removed and the outer -portion of the neck cleared of the broken end and particles of the seal, after which the cork 10 is extracted in the ordinary way. To facilitate the removal of the lock-pin,one of the sections is provided with a projection 11 to be engaged by a rod or like instrument inserted into the neck of the package, the lockpin being compressed until one end is withdrawn from a seat 3, when by proper manipulation the lock-pin may be Withdrawn, as will be readily comprehended.

Inasmuch as the seals or plugs are of special manufacture and bear the mark of the proprietor or concern putting up the goods, the hazardous undertaking of counterfeiting the same is not liable to be practiced. Hence parties in interest are protected against the actions of the unscrupulous.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is- In combination with a bottle or package having oppositely-disposed seats within its neck, a seal for closing the outer end of the neck andhaving its inner end portion reduced and apertu red, and an expansible lockpin provided with a projection to facilitate removal of the lock-pin after the seal has been broken, substantially as set forth.

2. In combination with a bottle or package having oppositely-disposed seats in its neck, a plug for closing the outer end of the neck and having its inner end reduced and aperturedz and having a head at its upper end constructed to receive a tool, and a lock-pin composed of telescopic sections with an interposed spring, said lock-pin being passed through the opening of the seal and having its terminal portions fitted into the seats of the bottle-neck, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. KENDALL. [L. s.]

Witnesses:

EUGENE COUNCIL, GEORGE B. ROBERTS. 

